Grasping In The Dark
by x-MewHazzard-x
Summary: Chell passes out from exhaustion and wakes up in the main chamber. Wheatley is angry with the girl for wasting time but Chell knows she isn't selfish and finds the old Wheatley by making him understand that as well. AndroidWheatley and EvilWheatley at first as well. Chelley.


**Okay, I really should be updating my Xiaolin Showdown story but I really have fallen in to the Portal fandom which seems as deep as the Aperture Science facility and unfortunately for me I don't have a portal gun to get back out again so...I'm kinda stuck here for a while...b** **ut for those who _are_ reading the XS story, I promise I have the next chapter in process!**

 **Anyway, this is another Chelley fanfic and I would like to give a slight warning for younger readers but its still rated T because there is nothing explicit. I don't even think that there is a need for the warning really, I'm just being paranoid :)**

 **Enjoy~!**

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 ***~ Grasping In The Dark ~***

She skidded to a halt, flailing about wildly with her arms desperately trying to steady herself. When she stabilised her balance she breathed a sigh of relief staring down in to the pit of nothingness. The endless fall into the depths of Aperture.

A deep laugh echoed the test chamber making Chell's chest squeeze with a complicated mix of emotion. She glared up at the screen showing him leaning in in interest.

"You seem to be getting more clumsy, love," he commented with a smirk and rested his chin on intertwined fingers that were propped up by his elbows resting on his knees. He then added, "Well go on then, carry on. The test isn't finished yet."

The girl would have thrown something at him in anger if it would have made any impact, but she had already smashed one of his monitors in an earlier test and it didn't accomplish anything. Only resulting in him laughing and calling her stupid because he believed that she thought he was really in the room with her. Of course, she didn't.

With a low grunt and a deep breath she looked around the room and quickly found the solution but it would require her to jump across another chasm and she was so tired already. They hadn't stopped testing for hours now. Even GLaDOS knew that humans had limits but she had also bumped in adrenal vapours to help fight of fatigue and keep her focused - it seemed Wheatley didn't know how or maybe even what it was for. Maybe that was a test in itself: see how long humans can go without rest or death. She hoped not.

If this kept going she would indeed lose her step soon and fall of a ledge or into a laser or in front of an army of turrets. Either way, she wouldn't be able to continue for very long.

Already Chell felt her lungs burning for oxygen and rest as she heaved in gasp after gasp. She felt her eyes stinging from the harsh lighting and started to notice the difficulty she was having focusing on the scenery around her. Her legs shaking, threatening to give way at any time. Her fingers twitched with the discomfort she was feeling.

She worked through the test as quickly as she could, managed not to descend to the depths of Aperture where her deathbed awaited and hit the final button freeing the lock on the door.

She stumbled through as Wheatley's pleased cries echoed around the room. She stopped just before the stairs to the lift. Pausing to draw in more air in to her lungs.

"Well done, love. Really, I thought you were definitely gonna go over then, but no you pulled through again and I gotta tell you that one felt great," he chuckled but it petered out as he watched her take one step and fall the rest of the way down the staircase, "Oh, you alright, love? Can you still move, there's a few more test to do. Well, when I say a few, I mean a little more than a few."

Her head smacked in to the cold tiles at the bottom and clouded her vision with absolute white. Slowly she tried to pick herself up but her legs refused to cooperate. Slowly, slowly blurry vision returned to her but her legs still wouldn't obey her. Instead she used her arms to drag herself to the lift.

Wheatley continued to babble as she struggled, "Well a lot more than a few actually. Oh, good - you're up. Well not quite but you're moving. Well done, love, good girl. Yes, that's it. Into the lift and Uncle Wheatley will take you to the next test chamber," the mean AI chuckled at his own nickname. The girl would have rolled her eyes at the stupid name if not for her insane lack of energy.

Once inside she pulled her legs in beside her and leaned against the glass as the doors shut just before she blacked out.

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When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't in the lift anymore nor was she in another test chamber. As her vision brightened taking in and focusing on her surroundings, she realised that she was in the main chamber. GLaDOS's chamber - well, Wheatley's chamber now.

"Awake, are we?" she heard the voice behind her and spun round in fear, rising to her knees incase she had to dodge an attack of some kind.

He was stood beside his throne, with his his hands clasped behind his back and his head held high, his eyes lazily gazing at her from an angle. He didn't look happy. He didn't look sad. He didn't look angry. Emotionless, bored maybe.

"About time," Wheatley commented taking a few steps to the left. Pacing probably to try and intimidate her but she wouldn't let that show, even if it did. He continued not looking at her properly and still not showing much emotion, "Do you know how long you've been unconscious? Ten hours. Ten hours..." the cables in his back whirred then and the fans in the chassis buzzed to life as he suddenly flipped and screamed at her, "That's ten hours of testing gone! Lady, I don't think you realise that I am going to live forever while you're going to die one day! What am I supposed to do then? Huh? Selfish! Utterly selfish! Stop wasting your precious life with unnecessary practises such as sleep and test until I command you otherwise!"

The unexpected outburst made her flinch but she didn't move to retrieve the Portal gun which was propped up on a table near the door that had just opened, signalling her dismissal. Instead she mimicked the glare he was giving her currently.

"Did you not hear me, love?" Wheatley growled taking a threatening two steps towards her. There was still a distance of ten feet between them. An almost terrifying grin appeared on his face then and it made her skin crawl, "Maybe you need some persuading first."

She didn't like the sound of that - not at all.

Chell rose to her feet slowly wincing when she felt the ache still present from her muscles being over worked. She slowly side-stepped over to the door not turning her back on him, not even once. His eyes followed her the whole way.

"There's a good girl," he purred lighting up the hallway outside the door for her, "Now follow the path I've marked out for you and once you're back in the elevator we'll pick up where you left off. Oh and love? Do hurry up. You're still taking an awfully long time completing the tests and I mean, really, I saw the tests you did for _her_. Why are you holding back for me? I would have thought you would try even harder for me. Make me happy. Make me feel good. What other motivation do you need?"

The disgusted expression that passed over her features hurt him enough to make him wince, "What?" he asked then continued, knowing that she wouldn't respond - she never did, "Am I not enough for you now? You seemed happy enough to follow orders when we first met! Ah - but that was when we were doing something for you, wasn't it? See, selfish!"

She frowned at him. She was _not_ selfish! If she was she wouldn't have completed any of his bloody tests. She would have jumped to her death just to spite him but she hadn't. What really annoyed her though was that he was implying that she had worked so hard at the start of their relationship just for herself which was incorrect. The woman had not only worked her socks off to escape herself but she had also done so to help her friend see the sky and the outside world. She was _not_ selfish.

"Don't look at me like that," he snarled waving his hand at her, "You know it as well as I do. You were just thinking about yourself the whole time."

She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head denying it. He glared at her challengingly for a few tense moments. Wheatley advanced towards her when she didn't shy away from his gaze and he couldn't detect any increase or decrease in her heart rate.

"Fine," he snapped and stopped in front of her, his height causing him to tower over her. She still didn't back off. Chell wouldn't show weakness. "Who else did you do it for then? Who else were you thinking of?" She prodded his chest, irritation showing in her eyes. He frowned and shook his head, "Ridiculous! You did sod all for me! You worked hard to get us here so that _you_ could escape and then you worked hard when _she_ woke up probably to get brownie points. To see if she'd eventually let you free for being such an obedient little test subject!"

Chell rolled her eyes and shook her head vigorously from side to side. She then glared up at him again the corners of her eyes glistening as she prodded him more roughly in the chest.

Wheatley was silent for a moment, his bright blue eyes flickering and scanning both of hers.

His expression finally softened and he looked more like his old self again. His voice came out uncertain and quiet, "You really tried for me too?"

She nodded the glare still remaining on her face. She was still furious with him, even if the Wheatley she knew was peeking through now.

He looked confused and his eyes danced over her whole body, "Are you okay? She didn't...I mean - I didn't hurt you, did I?" Chell averted her gaze then. He had. Over the past X amount of time she was suffering severe emotional pain and minor (only because she had experienced worse) physical pain. He looked almost scared, "I did...love...I'm...I'm so sorry. I thought that you...I thought you were..." he roared out in anger then, "Urgh! I don't know what I thought! Argh! I'm such a moron!"

The panels of the room vibrated and shook and then lights went out. Shrouded in utter darkness, Chell gasped. Completely blinded she could only hear the metal of the panels snapping against each other, the whirring of the fans, the rattling of the cables and the sorrowful quiet moans that escaped from deep within Wheatley's throat.

He sounded as if in pain. As if he was now experiencing all the pain that she felt all at once.

All of a sudden a booming voice echoed around not just this chamber but the whole facility, "Warning, core corruption at 25%."

Chell's heart raced in fear - that could only mean bad things ahead if this were to continue. How could she calm him down though? She couldn't even _see_ him for goodness sake!

She reached out in to the darkness and when her hands grasped nothing she realised he had moved. Gingerly she began to walk, listening carefully for the quiet sobs in the room.

"Just stay where you are, love," she heard his broken voice coming from her left further away than she realised. By the sounds of it he had returned to his seat on the chassis and he sounded as pained as the moans that escaped with every artificial breath he exhaled, "Don't waste anymore of your energy on me. I don't deserve it."

The woman ignored his wishes and changed direction still moving towards him with her arms outstretched. She heard the machinery in the room move, meaning he had most likely lifted the throne out of reach, "I said stop! That's an order!"

She huffed angrily and shook her head; seemingly he could still see everything even though she was literally rendered blind right now.

A half strangled, half annoyed cry of frustration echoed the room bouncing off of every clattering tile.

"Warning, core corruption at 50%," came the booming voice again.

Chell tried her best to peer in to the darkness but it was hopeless. There was no source of light at all so she couldn't even make out shape outlines. This was incredibly frustrating for the human girl not knowing where her target was. She waved her arms around in an attempt to tap something - anything.

She was almost certain she was where she was supposed to be by now and then...throwing her right arm in to the air her hand brushed something high above her. She paused and then reached up again and caught something. She pulled and the thing came loose.

As she felt it with both hands she realised what it was before he confirmed her guess, "Would you leave me alone already! Have the damn shoe if you want it."

She dropped the thing and reached up again and this time caught what she was sure was his foot.

"Hey!" he cried as she locked her hands around his ankle and pulled as hard as she could, "WAH!"

There was the clanging of the machinery and plates around the room moving and then the shuffle of something heavy falling on top of her. Chell's back and head smacked in to the tiled floor and she winced at the sharp pain that zapped through her. She heard a quick inhale above her and felt some pressure against her body from the one who had fallen on top of her.

"Oh my god! See, you daft woman, I've hurt you again!" Wheatley cried sounding panicked and then she felt something on her cheek and it was soft and gentle. His hand. She almost relaxed until it was gone and a strangled sound echoed the room.

"Warning, core corruption at 75%," the announcer echoed the lab.

Chell reached out and caught what she imagined was an arm or sleeve. He tried to pull himself up off of her.

"Please stop, love," she didn't, she instead pulled and his pressure was back against her.

She trailed her hand up his arm, trying to follow his body to find his face. Her hand slowly brushed up his arm, found his shoulder and moved along his neck to finally stop on his cheek.

Then there was blue, right in front of her, a dull blue glow of eyes staring in to hers. He had had his eyes shut clearly, using only the facility cameras to see it seemed. But that didn't mattered as he was really looking at her now and from the little illumination of his face he seemed confused and scared. He seemed broken.

He had his hands either side of her head, holding him up so that he didn't press against her too much and hurt her. Chell brought her other hand up and combed her fingers through the front of his hair which had fallen forward in a messy fashion when they had fallen. The darkness returned momentarily as he closed his eyes again and then reopened them.

The woman felt like her friend had returned now and GLaDOS's core programming was not in control anymore - thank god. But he was feeling guilty, so much that it was corrupting his system. What could she do to cloud that feeling, to diminish it enough to be stable? Of course, he had done her wrong but she understand how the programs and codes in the chassis could make you act. She knew he would have never done that before and seeing him being himself again was so relieving and it made her chest flutter. That's it!

She slid her left hand round to the back of his neck, keeping the right one on his cheek and pulled gently. He allowed her to move him closer and moved so that he was balanced on his elbows now either side of her.

"I'm not hurting you am I?" he asked quietly, fear evident in his eyes. Chell shook her head, "Love...what are we even doing? I don't...I don't understand."

"Ssh," she hushed with a kind smile and, before he could say anything more, pulled him down more forcefully and pressed her lips to his with her eyes shut.

Wheatley yelped against her lips with surprise but soon closed his eyes and reciprocated as best he could. Chell was happy to hear the fans in the chassis whirring frantically now and the panels of the room trembling. Whenever that happened it was usually due to an emotional surge travelling through him and the fact that he was responding to her meant it was a positive reaction.

She smiled in to the kiss and pushed him. They rolled so now she was straddling him still continuing the kiss. The wires and cables that were still attached to Wheatley swung loosely beside Chell but she ignored them; she was too engrossed in the feeling of Wheatley's arms going around her and holding her tightly against him to even notice them bating weakly against her arm. The woman barely noticed the announcer's voice stating something about the core corruption no longer being unstable or something about the threat being evaded but again she was too absorbed in her core friend to pay any attention to it.

She brushed her tongue along his lips wanting to deepen the act and, man alive, did Wheatley comply. The moan that escaped him, as their tongues danced, shook the entire facility including Chell herself. The sound rang through her body like electric up and down her spine, riddling her bare arms with goosebumps.

Wheatley broke the kiss much to Chell's disappointment but that didn't last long as the android had pushed them up to a sitting position - yet still holding her close to him - craned his neck to reach the crook of hers and kissed along her jawline causing her to gasp in pleasant surprise.

His lips worked along her jawline to her ear where he stopped and whispered, "I love you."

She wound her arms around his neck and pulled him close, he mirrored her actions. She brought her lips to his cheek and then to his ear and replied quietly, "I love you too."

He would have to work hard to earn her forgiveness - he knew that - but when you love someone you never stop trying. Now that they had confirmed each other's feelings, they would never stop trying to make it work together. Chell would complete tests for him to make him happy and Wheatley would let her rest and take as long breaks as she wanted until they could find a way out of the facility that didn't involve GLaDOS - wherever she was now - or power down the lab including the the lift when he was disconnected.

They would find a way. **They would find a way.**

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 **Any questions and/or views (negative or positive) please leave me review. I appreciate them all very much ^_^ If you have negative feelings let me know and please add constructive criticism because how can I identify things that people don't like if they don't tell me exactly what it was and why? I can't, so keep that in mind, friends ;)**

Thank you very much for reading and **Remember to Read & Review!**

 **Lv Lv Hazzard ^_^ x x**


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